Two-way stretch strain absorbing band with elastically closed relaxed meshes



Patented Sept. 2, 1941 OFFICE Two-WAY STRETCH' STRAIN ABsoRBlNG BAND WITH ELASTICALLY CLOSED BE- LAXED MESHES Howardl B. Snader, Temple, Pa., assignor to Vanity Fair Silk Mills, Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 25, 1939, Serial No. 286,470

Claims.

This invention relates to hosiery of that type having an integrally knit two-way stretch band incorporating fine gauge covered rubber elastic yarn, above the knee, the longitudinal stretch component of which makes the band a strain absorber to relieve the knee portion of the stocking from bursting stresses resulting from the bulge of the knee when the leg is flexed.

A band, such as described, to be of eective service as a strain absorber must comprise quite a number of courses and is subject to an inherent tendency to curl, that is, to shape itself into a channel, this beingdue to the fact that fine gauge rubber yarn cannot be knit without its becoming tensioned, and as the knitting ris released from the needles, the rubber yarn contracts, whereby drawing the fabric of the band together, producing the curling.v A

This concave or dished appearance of the strain absorbing band is a detriment to the sales appeal of the stocking, to obviate which, several remedial expedients have been proposed. One of these is to break the width continuity of the emsj tic fabric into a plurality of very narrow bands of the fine gauge covered rubber elastic yarn, alternating with narrow bands of the basic inelastic yarn of the stocking. Another is to cross the band with a widthwise series of stiffening ribs.

The present invention has for its object the provision of means to prevent objectionable curling of the strain absorbing band, not by breaking it down into va plurality of separated narrow bands, vnot by providing transverse stiffening ribs, but by the employment of a pattern of knitting which provides suiiicient fullness distributed through the band, to allow for the full contraction of the elastic yarn without its drawing the elastic band together.

Another object of the invention is to intersperse the fabric of "the strain. absorbing zone with meshes constituting nuclei of elasticity from which'the fabric may freely contract down to a condition of repose without `distorting the strain absorbing band, the meshes being formed as are ordinary meshes, by runs in adjacent wales emanating from drop stitches at one end of the mesh and locked by transferred stitchess from the wales of the runs at the other end, but differing from ordinary meshes in the fact that the runs proceed through courses of elastic yarn and the meshes are closed bya drop stitch of elastic yarn. This construction gives fullness and elasticity to' the bounding fabric of the meshes and produces a fabric that is free from curling bias `in any direction.

Still another object of the invention is the pro-v vision of a strain absorbing band comprising a" plurality of groups each consisting of a somewhat large number of courses of elastic yarn, alternating with a group or groups of courses of inelastic yarn, the groups of elastic yarn being provided with circumferential series of Walewise extending meshes of the type above described, extending across the elastic group and spaced to form an intervening plurality of continuous wales of elastic yarn acting as paths of force transmission for longitudinal stresses.

In such a stocking construction, the course or courses carrying .the transferred loops at the head of the wales are less stretchable circumferentially than other courses, so that when the strain absorbing band vis circumferentially distended on the leg the effect of the transferred loops is to draw out the top part of the intervening continuous Wales in a circumferential direction, which reduces their'capacity to stretch longitudinally of the stocking.

Thisis a necessary evil insofar as the tops of the intervening continuous wales are concerned, for the meshes must be locked by transferred loops, but the loss of longitudinal elasticity which the continuous wales incur in this manner is compensated by the extraordinary fullness and elasticity imparted to the intervening wales through the closing of the meshes by an elastic drop stitch.

If only one or two inelastic courses separate the groups of elastic yarn, the transferred loops at the'head of the succeeding series of meshes come so close to the vbars of continuous wales between the meshes of the preceding grou-p so as to draw out circumferentially the bases of said l bars in the same manner as the top of said bars are drawn out (through distension ofthe leg) and thus to thwart the purpose for which the full elastic closure `of the meshes is' provided, which is to feed elasticity into said bars.

Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to let several courses of normal loops of inelastic yarn come between the closure course of the preceding series of meshes and the locking course of the lsucceeding series of meshes. The normal loops, of course, have a greater freedom of circumferential distortion than the transferred loops and therefore permit the closing yarn of the preceding series of meshes to contract into the bases of the intervening bars, preventing them from stretching circumferentially, and thus preserving their full capacity to' stretch in a walewise directicml,

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of ,a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing, throughout the several figures of which the same characters of referencey have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the upper part of the stocking showing a strain absorbing band embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a diagram of the pattern of knitting constituting the subject invention; and

Figure 3 is a side elevation illustrating the be-v havior of one of the intervening bars under circumferential stress.

Referring now in detail to the several iigures, the strainabsorbing band, which is designated by the reference character I, occupies a position above the knee portion of the stocking, and preferably at some little distance from the top edge of the stocking, and it extends circumferentially thereabout. The strain absorbing band I is integrally knit with respect to the adjacent portions 2 and 3 of the stocking. t

In the present embodiment of the invention the strain absorbing band is composed of a plurality of groups l and 5, each comprising a some'- what large number of courses of elastic yarn, indicated by the reference character 6, separated by a group 1 of courses I of inelastic yarn. The groups of elastic yarns are. provided with circumferential series of meshes 3 and I3 extending walewise across' the group of elastic yarns, and being elongated on account of the width extent of the groups of elastic yarns. The meshes in each series are spaced apart, alternating with bars II and I2 formed by the continuous wales I3 and I4, which wales throughout the width extent of the groups of elastic yarns are made from the elastic yarns.

Each of the meshes is formed by runs extending walewise through' the group of elastic yarns and emanating from drop stitches Il and I6 re'- spectively in the next to last knit and last knit courses of elastic yarns of Va group. 'I'he vruns are stopped at the top of the mesh by the loops I1 and I3 transferred to the right and left from the wales of the runs of the respective drop stitches. In the formation of the runs all of the elastic stitches in the area of the mesh are dropped, become straight bars I 3 with fullness derived from the dissolution of the loops. The bar constituted by the lowermost drop stitch -IO acquires the fullness of a single loop from the wale 20, while the straight transverse` bars I 3 have acquired the fullness of two loops from the wales 20 and 2|. This fullness permits the elastic yarn in the wales I3 and Il of the intervening bars to contract down to a state of repose without in any way distorting the fabric. Consequently, there is no tendency of the fabric to curl.

Figure 2 shows that in the group 1 of inelastic courses there are two inelastic courses 22 and 23, of normally knit loops, between the closure course of the meshes of group l and the locking course of group 5. These two courses play a most important fu'nction in preserving the ,capacity of theintervenis consequently diminished. When the stocking is distended by the leg ofthe wearer, the courses of the transferred loops I1 and I8 willbe tensioned more than the rest of the fabric, and this will cause the intervening bar II to be drawn out wide at the top, as indicated at 24 in Figure 3. It is axiomatic that the more a knit fabric is distorted in one direction the less capacity for elongation it has in another direction. Consequently.- the longitudinal stretchability of the intervening bars II will be impaired to the extent that they are drawn out in a circumferential direction at the top by the courses lof transferred loops. This cannot be avoided, for it is necessary that the meshes shall be locked at the top by transferred loops.

bars I I to be stretched circumferentially at the bottom, and to prevent such stretching, the pres- A i ent invention provides that instead of the courses of inelastic yarn which carry the transferred loops 25 and 26 at the head of the meshes of the succeeding series being placed directly contiguous to the closure course of the preceding series of meshes, there shall be several courses, for example, courses Zand 23 of inelastic yarn, intervening. If the courses of the transferred loops 25 and 26 immediately follow the closure course of the meshes 9, the effect would be the same as it is at the top of said meshes. The relatively small stretchability of the courses carrying the transferred loops 25 and 26 would compel said courses to draw out the bottom of the intervening bars II under the stress of distension. Under such circumstances a great deal of the advantage of the full and elastic closure bar I6 of the mesh 9 would be lost. The intervening courses of inelastic yarn 22 and 23 are preferably, and as shown, of normally undistorted loops, which loops by their capacity to distort lendv great stretchability to their courses. Thus, the circumferential stretching of the courses of the transferred loops 25 and 26 is gradually absorbed by the intervening courses 22 and 23 so that in the course of the closure bars I 6, said stretchability is not felt, and the fullness of the b ars I6 permits the lower portions of the intervening bars of continuous'wales II to freely contract down to a repose state, as shown at 21 in Figure 3, imparting the maximum amount of longitudinal stretchability to said intervening bars.

It is, of course, well understood that the wales to which loops are transferred ordinarily assume ing bars II 'to stretch freely in a longitudinal flected circumferentially almost to a straight angle and that, therefore, the stretchability of these courses through deformation of the loops ribbed effect, due solely to the thickening of the wales produced by the doubling of the loops. In the present invention it will .be apparent that due to the length of the meshes and the fact that transferred loops occur only at the heads of the meshes, the transferred loops will occur in the continuous wales I3 and Il only at widely spaced intervals, and in staggered courses, so that no ribbed effect is produced. On the contrary.' the intervening bars II between the ends of said meshes are absolutely flat and limp, due to the fact that the covered rubber elastic yarn has not only contracted to its state of repose, but that the loops themselves are loose with the fullness derived from the bars I3 of the adjacent meshes.

It is preferred, although not essential to the aiecting the capacity of the strain absorbing band to stretch in a longitudinal direction.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be under- Astood to those skilled in the art that the principles of the invention may bel exemplified in other patterns of knitting than those specifically described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a knit stocking of the strain absorber type, a strain' absorbing band integrally knit in the stocking above the knee, the fabric of said band including a plurality of groups of courses of elastic yarn separated by a group or groups of courses of inelastic yarn, said fabric being provided with circumferential series of meshes, each mesh constituted by runs through a group of elastic yarns emanating from dropped stitches in said group of elastic yarns, said meshes being locked at one end by loops transferred from the wales of said runs, and said meshes 'being closed at the other end by a Abar of elastic yarn resulting from one of said dropped stitches.

2. In aknit stocking of the strain absorber type, a strain absorbing band integrally knit in elastic group, and said meshes being closed by a bar of elasticyarn resulting from one of said dropped stitches.

5. In a knit stocking of the strain absorber type, a strain absorbing band integrally knit in the stocking above the knee, the fabric of said yarns being provided with circumferential series the stocking above the knee', the fabric of said band including a plurality of groups, each group comprising a somewhat large number of courses of elastic yarn, separated by a group or groups of courses of inelastic yarn, the groups of courses of elastic yarns being provided with circumferential Vseries of -walewise extending elongated meshes, spaced apart by a series of intervening elongated bars knit of elastic yarn formed as spaced sections of continuous wales, said bars acting as paths of force transmission for longitudinal stresses, each mesh being constituted by runs through a group of elastic courses emanating from dropped stitches in the group of elastic courses, said meshes being locked at one end by loops transferred fromv the wales of said runs, and said meshes being closed by a bar of elastic yarn-resulting from one of said dropped stitches.

4. In a knit stocking of the strain absorber type, a strain absorbing band integrally knit in the stocking above the knee,` the fabric of said band including a plurality of groups each comprising a somewhat large number of vcourses of elastic yarnyseparated by a group 'or groups of courses of inelastic yarn, the groups of elastic yarns being provided with circumferential series of walewise extending elongated meshes, spaced apart by a series of intervening elongated bars knit of elastic yarn formed as spacedsections of continuous wales, said bars acting as paths of said meshes being llocked at one end by loops transferred from inelastic courses preceding said oi.v walewise extending elongated meshes, spaced apart by a series of intervening elongated bars knit of elastic yarn formed as spaced sections of continuous wales, said bars acting as paths of force transmission for longitudinal stresses, each., mesh being constituted by runs through a group of courses of elastic yarn emanating ,from dropped stitches in said group of elastic yarn, said meshes being locked at one end by loops transferred from inelastic courses preceding said elastic group, said meshes being `closed by a bar of elastic yarn resulting from one of said dropped stitches, there being courses of loops intervening between the closure course of a series of meshes and the locking course of the succeeding series of meshes.

6. In a knit stocking of the strain absorber type, a strain absorbing band integrally knit in the stocking above the knee, the fabric of said band including a plurality of groups each comprising a somewhat large number of courses of elastic yarn, separated by a group or groups of 4courses of inelastic yarn, the groups of elastic yarns being provided with circumferential series of walewise extending elongated meshes, spaced apart by a series of intervening elongated bars knit of elastic yarn formed as spaced -sections of continuous wales, said bars acting as paths of force transmission for longitudinal stresses.' each mesh being constituted by runs through a group of courses of elastic yarn emanating from dropped stitches in said group of elastic yarn, said meshes being locked at one end by loops transferred from 'inelastic courses preceding saidelastlc group, said meshes being closed by a bar of elastic yarn resulting from one of said dropped stitches, there being courses of loops of inelastic yarn intervening between the closure course of a'series oi' of elastic yarn being provided with circumferen..

tial series of walewise extending elongated meshes, spaced apart by a series of intervening elongated barsknit of elastic yarn formed as spaced sections of continuous wales, said bars acting as paths' of force transmission for longitudinal stresses, each mesh being formed by runs in adjacent wales, emanatingfrom staggered drop stitches starting respectively in the last and next positelv transferred from said adjacent wales respectively inthe last and next to last knit inelastic courses in the precedingly inelastic group,

f-said stitches being transferred to loops of inelastic yarn in the continuousl wales rof said bars whereby said meshes are bounded at oneend by of meshes and the locking courses of the succeeding series of meshes.

8. In a knit stocking of the strain absorbing type, a strain absorbing band integrally knit in the stocking above the knee, the fabric of said band including a plurality of groups each comprising a somewhat large number of courses of elastic yarn, separated by a group or groups ofV courses of inelastic yarn, the groups of courses of elastic yarn being provided with circumferential series of walewise extending elongated meshes,`

spaced'apart by a series of intervening elongated bars knit of elastic yarn formed as spacedl sections of continuous wales, said bars acting as paths of force transmission for longitudinal stresses, each mesh being formed by runs in adjacent wales, emanating from staggered drop stitches starting respectively in the last and next to last knit courses in a group of elastic courses. said runs being locked by staggered stitches oppositely transferred from said adjacent wales respectively in the last and next to last knit inelastic courses in the precedingly inelastic group, said stitches being transferred to loops of inelastic yarn in the continuous wales of said bars whereby said meshes are bounded at one end by relaxed transferred locpsof inelastic yarn, closed at the opposite end by a full bar of elastic'yarn, and being crossed intermediately by bars of elastic yarn of double fullness acquired from both wales, there being courses of loops of inelastic yarn intervening between the closure course of one series of meshes and the locking courses of the suceed ing series of meshes.

9. In a knitted stocking of the strain-absorbing type, a strain-absorbing band integrally knit in the stocking above the knee, said bandincluding a plurality of groups of courses of elastic yarn alternating withA a plurality of groups of courses of inemsnc yarn', said band beingprovided with circumferentially spaced series, of groups of dropped loops dening dropped stitches and groups of loops transferred in opposite directions located at the terminusof each of said series of dropped stitches.

10. A knitted stocking having incorporated therein 'above the knee a strain-absorbing band consisting of a plurality of groups of courses of elastic yarn alternating with a plurality of groups of courses of inelastic yarn, the groups of courses of elastic yarn being provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced dropped stitches4 each of a width greater than the width of a single,

wale, said groups of courses of inelastic yarn having loops transferred in opposite directions at the 

